swindlers offering massive amounts of cash in exchange for local bank account information.

The Royal Gazette has received a copy of the letter which is dated November 6, 2000, addressed simply to the president and was allegedly sent by Alhaji Ibrahim Gwarzo, the first son of General Ismaila Gwarzo -- the former national security advisor to the late military ruler of Nigeria, Gen. Sani Abacha.

The author claims that Gen. Gwarzo's family have been forced to return all they have and that their offshore accounts have been frozen.

However it adds: "Fortunately we still have some amount (sic) in a secret vault in the treasury of the federation which came about in June 6, 1998, when I personally took the sum of US$96,000,000 to the Central Bank of Nigeria on my father's instruction for further transfer to one of our foreign accounts in Switzerland before the incarceration of my father two days later which now made it impossible (sic) for the remittance to be concluded.

"I have rearranged with the new officers in charge of international funds transfers in the Central Bank of Nigeria to conclude this remittance for joint benefit but this time funds will no longer be going to my father's existing Switzerland account for security reasons but to any of your trusted account (sic) to enable me commence international business transaction (sic) with your company.'' The recipient will receive 25 percent of the $96 million for seeing the deal through with the rest going to the Nigerian partners, alleges the author.

The letter is the latest in a long line of letters, e-mails and faxes from Nigerian fraudsters which target Bermudians looking for personal information such as passports and bank account numbers.

Amounts for transfer have ranged from US$15,000,000 to US$96,000,000 and the names of the alleged letter writers have included Gen. Abacha's wife, Government member Dr. Usman Bello, Nigerian Petroleum Trust Fund accountant Prince Ovie O. Odafe and Federal Ministry of Aviation accountant Prince Obi Ezeh.

Police's Commercial Crime Unit is familiar with the letters and urge the public to avoid communicating in any way with the originators.